Among the most dramatic moments of the Middle Ages, the 1066 defeat of the Anglo-Saxons made the leader of northern France into the ruler of Britain. During the next century, as the Norman kings laid the foundations of modern Britain, their power would spread irresistibly across Europe. From Scandinavia down to Sicily, Malta, Seville, and even the Holy Land, the Normans built magnificent castles and churches. As Levi Roach recounts here, as they created a new Europe in the image of their own nobility, these devout yet politically savvy conquerors documented their power in such masterpieces as the Domesday Book.